Heel-covering apparatus



Mar. 2o, 1923;

v P. R. GLASS HEEL COVERINQ APPARATUS 9, V191s 2 sheets-sheet 1 Filed Sept.

lunhnllllnl l l l k l I l x 1 e l l l 1| Mar. 20,` 1923.

P. R. GLASS AHEEL. CQVERING APPARATUS Filed Sept.

9, 19,1 8 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Mar. 20, 1923..

srrssN 1,44%,738 PATENT fFlFMIt;y

PERLEY R. GLASS, OF BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS, yASSIGrNOR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATIONOF/ NEW JERSEY.

HEELCOVERING' APPARATUS.

Application aie/a september e, 191s. y serial No. escasa To all whom t 'may concern: h

Be it known that I, PERLEY R. Grass, a citizen of the UnitedV States, residing at Brookline, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Heel-Covering Apparatus, of which the following description,`

in connection with the accompanying draw,-

ings, is a specification, like reference chario in the several figures.

This invention relates to apparatus for covering the heels of shoes `with flexible material, as leather' or fabric, and more especially to apparatus adapted to apply coveringto heels which havebeen secured` to shoes. y y

As far as I am aware, operations of the character above outlined rhave been pier--` formed either wholly by a series of relatively slow manual operations or with apparatus requiring special attachments to the covering. By the apparatus of the present invention heels in place upon shoes are rapidly and effectively covered with material in the form ordinarily provided and with ,n little manual effort. i

A feature of the invention includes means for preparing a shoe for the application of 30 the covering, together `with means for forcing` said covering into engagement with the shoe. In the particular embodiment of the invention herein disclosed therev are two preparatory steps; one accomplished by means for opening `the rand `crease into which the covering is to be forced and the other by means for smoothing the edge of the heel over which the covering is drawn. A plurality of forcing means may-'also be employed. one of these causing. the covering material to enter the rand crease, drawing said material over the edge ofthe heel,` and the other pressing it into contact with the edge.

A feature of the invention is also furnished by the preparing means, which have a portion for engagement with a heel and a iiange arranged to enter the rand crease of he shoe to which the heel is secured. `This also applies to other elements of the apparatus. as to a portion of the means for forcing the heel covering into the rand crease and to the mea-ns for pressing the covering against the edge of the heele The creaseentering flange may be provided with proacters on the dra-wings indicating like'partsr jections to facilitate the .feeding of the work, the covering-forcing meansy being herein so shown. w

A, furtherl feature `of the `invention is found inthe forcing means which operates on the covering.` The mechanism vwhich I have shown for the purpose of tucking the covering into the rand crease has a workguiding member and a pressure member operating upon the heel covering adjacent tothe guiding member. The. pressure or` tucking member preferably has a recipro-` catory movement, while the guiding member may yield to vary the projection of thev tucking ymember beyond it. h

l Asa feature of a machine embodying the foregoing preparing means and tucking means, and acting upon the work between the two, I preferably provide means 4for trimming said covering to leave a correct uniform projection beyond the edge of the heel. In the trimming mechanism here illustrated there is a rotatable knife and al guard for contact with the heel to which the covering is to be applied, said covering passing between the knife yand guard.` I r`valso prefer tohave associated 4with the knife la gage co-operating with therand crease fof the shoe operated on to determine the width to which the edge of thecovering is to be trimmed, and there may be means providedfor adjusting` the relative position of the knife and either the guard or gage or both these members.`

' I do not claim this trimming means inthe present application, however'since the same forms the subject-matter of a divisional application having Ser. No. l329,99,ifiled the lith day .of (ctober, 1919i, i

In connection with the following description of one embodiment of the invention *which I havechosen to illustrate in the accompanying,.drawings, other features will appear.

i In these drawings,- i Fig. l is a top plan ratus;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation looking from the left in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a sectional detail on the line 343 of Fig. 2;

Fig. Ltis a similar view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; y

Fig 5 is ya perspective view of the tucking mechanism with a portion brokenaway, and

view ofthe appa- Fig. 6 is a broken elevation of the trimming mechanism.

From an upright 10 adjustable vertically in a base standard 12 project three horizon.- tal arms 14, 16, and 18, thefirst two being oppositely alined at the rear of the ma-chine while that last named extends forwardly. Upon these arms the operating elements of the apparatus are carried, and these will be described in the order in which they act upon the. work. lUpon the arm 14 of the frame is a forwardly extending bracket 20, having fixed in it parallel to the arm a spin` dle 22.1 Rot'atable-upon the outer extremity of this'spindle and secured iny place by a screw 24- is a work-preparing member 26. This I have shown as in the form of a roll, having a body portion`28 situated at the side toward the bracket 20 and an outer annular flange SOperpendicular to the axis of the spindle.k The periphery of the body and the flange converge toward one another, the angle between themy preferably being'substantially that between the outer portion of the heel to be operatedY upon and the heel seat end thereof. The portion 28 of the roll furnishes a rest over which the heel is guided by the operator, while the flange is of sufficient thickness and length to force open the rand crease so that it may readily receive the covering. In using this device the operator, resting the side of the heel near the breast against the under side of the portion 28 of the roll'with the flange in the rand crease, runs the work beneath the roll until the opposite side of the breast is reached and the walls of the entire crease somewhat separated. j

Journaledin the arms 14 and 16 is a shaft 32 rotated from a suitable source of power by a belt 34 co-operating with fast and loose pulleys 36. A belt shifter 88 mounted upon a bracket 40 from the frame enables the belt to be moved from one pulley to the other. Carried at the right hand extermity of this shaft 82 is mechanism for further preparing the heel for the reception of the covering. This consistsof a beating member 42 having a body portion in the form of a roll 44 fixed upon the end of the shaft. About the periphery of the roll are undercut recesses to receive beating projections shown as consistingy of small rolls 46 turning in the recesses between end plates 47 and 50, and having at the inner extremity of each an anti-friction ball 48 serving as a thrust bearing. The edge of the outer plate 50 extends beyond the face of the roll 44 to furnish a guide flange. The angular relation between this flange and the periphery of the roll 44 with itsk small rolls 46 is similar tojthat between the body and flange of the roll 26, That is, the inclination of the edge. ofthe roll is 'such as to somewhat conform to the edge of a heel when the flange is inserted in the rand crease. `The operator applies the work to this roll 42 in the same manner as to the crease-opening roll, and, as the edge of the heel moves beneath it, the revolving rolls 46 beat out and smooth any roughness, giving an even surface over which to stretch the heel. covering.

Upon the heel thus prepared the covering is cemented,r leaving the edges projecting beyond the top and bottom To give uniformity to the edgewhich is to enter the opened rand crease7 itis trimmed by the following mechanism. At the forward end of the arm 18 is al transverse extension 52 in which is journaled a horizontal shaft 54 connected for rotation to the shaft 32 by belt gearing 56. Fast upon the left hand extermit-y of the shaft 54 is a circular knife 58Aprovided with a peripheral cutting edge. Carried upon the portion 52 of the arm 18 and surrounding the knife is a casing7 havingV a body 6() closedatfr its outer side 'by a head 62. There isyhowever, at the lower forward portion of this casing an opening appearing at 64 in Fig. 2 of the drawings, through which the knife projects for co-operation with the work. Engaging the counter portion of the shoe operatedon is a guard having a shank 66fs'ecured; to the cover 62 of the casing by a screw and slot connection 68 allowing its movement radially of the knife. Projecting from the shank, lirst outwardly in a horizontal direction and then downwardly and inwardly,l is an arm 70 having at its lower end beneath the knife a laterally extended guard portion 72 curved to conform generally to the counter portion of a shoe and against which the cutting edge of the knife operates. The form ofthe arm permits the excess of material which is to be trimmed away from the covering to enter between the knife and guard7 while the adjustment by means of theY connection 68 enables the operator to bring the guard into proper relation to the knife as the latter is worn away through sharpening.

To aidthe operator in trimming to a line parallel tothe rand creaseythere is shown mounted onthe edge of the casing` 60 a gage arm 74secured in place by a screw 7 6 passing through a transverse slot at. the upper end of thel arm.l This arm 74 extends with its lower enlarged end 78 adjacent 'to the inner side of the knife, it being adjusted by meansof the yscrewI 7 6 so that when the gage is in 'the yrand-crease the knife will trim the heel covering to*V a width` giving sufiicient projection to` properly( tuck into and be retainedinr the crease. To allow the operator to correctly follow the crease in trimming, I. prefer to first mark its position upon the covering by running the work beneath the roll 26in the samemanner as when separating the. walls of the crease. but more lightly. This causes the edge of the flange to indent the covering in a line overthe crease, so that the operator may easily follow it with the gage.

As the knife 58 becomes dull in use it may be sharpened without removal from the apparatus by a grinding member forming a part thereof. This grinding member is furnished by an abrasive wheel fast upon the lower end of a spindle 82, rotatable in upper and lower arms 8a carried on a` slide 88 movable on the portion 52 of the arm 18. Turning in the support at the end of the slide is a screw 87 threaded into said slide, by which the position of the grinding wheel with relation to the edge of the knife may be varied. Fixed upon the spindle beneath the upper supporting arm is a' pulley 88 connected by a belt 90 with a pulley 92 on the shaft 82. To control the rotation of the grinding wheelthe belt passes over a tightener furnished by a pulley 94 mounted on a lever 96 iulcrumed upon the extension 52. r he lever has upon one arm a. spring latch 98 engaging ra notched segment 100 secured to the extension. By this tightener the belt 90 may be placed under such tension as to rotate the spindle 82 and the grinding wheel, or the belt may be loosened so that wheel is not driven. The lower run of the belt is preferably guided by a pulley 102 rotatably mounted on the arm 18. The grinding wheel is held normally out of contact with the knife by a helical spring 101 surrounding the spindle and interposed between the lower bearing arm and the pulley 88. The spindle may be pressed down to bring the grinding wheel into engagement with the edge ot the `rnife by a finger piece or head, 106, loosely mounted upon the upper extremity of the spindle .and retained in place thereon by a. screw 108 extending into a circumferential groove in the spindle. An anti-friction ball 110 is shown (Fig. 8) interposed between the head and spindle so that the former may be forced down by the operator without sharing in the rotation of the spindle.

.Lifter the edge of the covering'has been trinnned. it is forced into the rand crease by a mechanism mounted upon the outer end oi the arm A. To this arm is fixed a supporting casing 112 in which are formed vertical ways 114 and 116. moves a slide 118 carrying rotatably upon its lower and outer tace a guide wheel 12001: `the same general torni and arranged to enrage the work .in the saine manner the` roll 26. The liange of this roll 120 is, howover.r provided w'th projections 122 shown as of a regular scalloped or wave term. These projections, by their engagement with the covering material, prevent its crawling' or being displaced before the roll as the work is moved beneath it. The slide 118 is re cessed at its inner side to receive a helical spring 12% situated between the bottom of 1n the ways 114A the recess Iand a pin 126, extending'horizontally from the front to the rear of the casing '112 and passing'through a vertical slot 128 in the slide. This spring holds the slide and guide roll nornially downward, yet permits it to rise under the pressure of the work to vary the projection into the rand crease of the tucking member which will now be described. Traveling in the way 116 is a slide 180 furnished with a socket 182 to receive the shank of the tucking member 184. This member consists of a vertical finger having a fiat inner face movable in contact with the outer end of the roll 120. The lower extremity' `of the linger is reduced at 136 and lies in proximity to the edge of the flange of the guidewheel. The tucking finger is reciprocated by an eccentric 188v formed upon the end of the shaft 82 and oined by an eccentric rod 140 and pin 142 threaded into. the rod to the upper end of the slide 180, in which the pin 1412 turns. Starting the work at the breast ot the heel with the body of the roll 120 contacting with the heel covering, as illustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawing, and the `fiange starting the trimmed edge into the rand crease, the reciprocating linger forces the material smoothly and unitorrnly into the crease as the `worky travels beneath it, until the opi posite side ot the breast is reached.

To remove any irregularities of the covering at 4the `edge of the heel it may be passed over a` smoothing or finishing tool. This tool is mounted upon a bracket 144 projecting forwardly from the arm extension 52, it havinga shank 148 fixedfin avertical opening in the bracket. This tool, as illustrated, has a body 148 square in horizontal section, and this at one side is provided with a` portion formed with a curved end face 150. At one side of this face, here shown as at the left, is a depending flange 152. The flange is introduced into the rand crease and the work, with the covering applied to the heel and tucked into the crease, moved over the face 1.50 by shortopposite strokes, this serving to press out projections which may have formed in the covering duringthe operation ot tucking it 'into the crease. f

To sum up` the operation oi the apparatus,

"the rand crease of the heeled shoe S is opened by the action of the. roll 26 to give the desired space .for the admission of the covering, and the heel edge adjacent to the crease is smoothed `by the beating projections 4G; thus preparing the work to re-v isc ing finger 124 `and the inequalities of the covering leveled by the smoothing surface 150. The application of the toplift` and the finishing of the heel at the breast may be performed in the usual manner.

Having described my invention, whatl I claim as new and desire to secure byLetters Patent of the United States is:

l. In a heel-covering apparatus, a member having a frusto-conical guiding surface for engagement with a heel attached to a shoe and a working portion arranged to enter the rand crease of the shoe.

2. In a heel-covering apparatus, a rotatable member havinga `truste-conical guiding surface for engagement with a heel attached to a shoe and a Working flange arrangedto enter the rand creasel of the shoe.

In a heel-covering apparatus, a rotatable member having a frusto-conical guiding surface for engagement with a heel attached to a shoe and a flange arranged to enter the rand crease ofthe shoe and having fiXed projections.

a. In a .heel-covering apparatus, a roll having a heel-engaging guide portion and a randcrease-entering working flange having projections arranged to engage successive increments of the covering ofl a heel and tuck them into the rand crease, the flange and periphery of the heel-engaging portion converging toward one another.

5. In a heel covering apparatus, a roll having a heel-engaging portion and a randcrease-entering flange provided at its edge with fixed projections.

6. In a heel-covering apparatus, a member for guiding work held by an operator, and a pressure member operating upon the covering adjacent to the guiding member, said members being constructed and arranged f'or co-operative action in tucking the covering of a heel into the rand crease of a shoe.

7. In a heel-covering apparatus, a member for guiding work held by an operator arranged for contact with the covering, and a pressure member operating upon the covering adjacent to the guiding member, said members being constructed and arranged for co-operative action in tucking the cover ing of a heel into the rand crease of a shoe.

F. In a heel-covering apparatus, a member for guiding work held by an operator, a movable pressure member operating upon the covering adjacent rto the guiding membei'. and means :for actuating the pressure member. said members being constructed and arranged for co-operative action in tucking the covering of a heel into the rand crease of a shoe.

9. In a heel-covering apparatus, a member for guiding work held by an operator, and a reciprocatory pressure member operating upon the covering adjacent to the guiding member, said members being constructed and arranged `for co-operative action in tucking the covering of a heel into the rand crease of a shoe.

10. In an apparatus of the class described, a rotatable work-guiding member, and a pressure member reciprocating across the face ofthe rotary member in a direction perpendicular to its axisof rotation.

11. In an apparatus of the class described, a yieldable member for guiding work held by an operator, and a pressure member operating upon the work, adj acent to the guiding member, both of said members being constructed and arranged for independent co-operative motion in the crease between the upper and the bottom of a shoe.

12. In an apparatus of the class described, a rotary rand crease guide, and a pressure member arranged to enter the rand crease adjacent to the guide.

13. In an apparatus of the class described, a rotary rand crease guide, a pressure member arranged to enter the rand crease adjacent to the guide, and means for reciprocating the member. i

14. In a heel-covering apparatus, a guide having a heel-engaging portion and a randcrease-entering portion, and a coveringtuclring member operating in proximity to the rand-crease-entering portion of the guide.

15. .In a heel-covering apparatus. a guide having a heel-engaging portion and a randcreaseentering portion, and a coveringtuclring member mounted to reciprocate over the rand-crease-entering portion of the guide.

16. In a heel-covering apparatus, a guide having a heel-engaging portion and a randcrease-entering portion provided with projecticns, and a covering-tucking member operating in proximity to the rand-crease entering portion of the guide.

17. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with a support provided with ways, of a rotary guide 'member and a pressure membermounted in the ways, a power shaft rotatable in the support, and connections between the shaft and pressure member, both of said members being constructed and arranged to enter the crease bel tween the upper and the bottom of a shoe.

18. In an apparatus of the class described. the combination with a support provided with ways. of a rotary guide member and a pressure member mounted in the ways, a power shaft rotatable in the support, connections between the shaft and pressure member. and a spring acting to force the guide member toward the extremity of the pressure member. both of said members being constructed and arranged to enter the. crease between the upper and the bottom of a shoe.

19. In an apparatus of the class described,

lll

the combination with a support provided with ways, of slides mounted in the ways, a tucking member fixed to one of the slides, a guide roll rotatable upon another slide and having one of its faces in proximity to the tucking member, a power shaft, and connections between the shaft and ,pressure-member slide, to reciprocate the pressure member in a direction perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the guide roll.

20. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with a support provided with ways, of slides mounted in the ways, a tucking member fixed to one of the slides, a guide roll rotatable upon another slide and having one of its faces parallel to and in close proximity to the tucking member, a spring interposed between the guide-roll slide and the support, a power shaft, and connections between the shaft and pressuremember sli-de. u

21. In a heel covering apparatus, the combination of a rotatable work guiding member having a heel engaging portion and a rand-crease-entering flange, a flat pressure member adjacent the guiding member and parallel to the flange thereof, and means for reciprocating said pressure member.

22. In a mechanism for covering heels attached to shoes, a tucking member comprising a flat, blunt edged device adapted to 'force the heel covering into the rand crease of a shoe, means for reciprocating said device, and means to guide a shoe and an attached heel thereto.

23. In a mechanism for covering heels attached to shoes, a tucking device reciprocably mounted for forcing theheel covering into the rand crease of a shoe, mechanism for reciprocating said device, and a support for said device and mechanism to permit the presentation of a shoe having an attached partly-covered heel and with its rand-crease in position to be entered by said device as described. f

24. A machine for use in operating on shoes having partially covered heels attached thereto and comprising, in combination, tucking means, a rotary shaft, connections therebetween to actuate said means to force the margins of the heel coverings into the rand creases of the shoes, and a support for Said means and said connections permitting the presentation of the rand crease of a shoe to said means without obstructing the manipulation of the shoe.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

PERLEY R. GLASS. 

